he mission of Unknown Movies is to bring obscure and little-known pictures to the attention of interested Web visitors. Covering films ranging from East Side Story (a film about Iron Curtain musicals) and Dogs (killer canines attack a remote university campus), Unknown Movies dredges up overlooked gems, camp classics and more than a few dead ducks.
Reviews form the core content of this site. Each review delivers enough information to give browsers an accurate idea as to whether a particular movie might be worth seeing. Well-written, insightful and funny, they also provide photos. The reviews are indexed both alphabetically and by genre, with an SF section that includes films like Omega Doom and Attack of the Teenage Vixens from Outer Space. However, reviews are not all the site has to offer. An active letters section discusses movies already reviewed, suggests other flicks worthy of consideration and generally lets film buffs connect with each other over trivia and other areas of interest. Meanwhile, another section of the page plays matchmaker for collectors who are looking to trade their videos. A third has links to other top-notch movie sites.
Unknown Movies also contains a "Why" section which attempts to justify its existence by extolling the archaeological delights of watching films nobody else has seen, and which proudly displays the page's Legion of Muck award from www.badmovies.org. Whether or not visitors buy into the site's philosophy, one thing is certain. Unknown Movies offers delightful reading matter for dedicated film fans and cinema dilettantes alike.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—October 8, 2001
ne of the most miraculous aspects of the World Wide Web is its sheer unpredictability. No one who designed the network could ever have forecast the many odd-yet-essential functions it has come to handle. Certainly one of the more humane unforeseen uses of the Web was the creation of online memorials, sites dedicated to preserving the memory of the deceased. These "virtual cemeteries" bring the honorable ancient practices of our ancestors into the 21st century.
Now the SF genre has such an online mortuary of its own: George Willick's Spacelight. Here are arrayed scores of deceased SF authors, ranging from Douglas Adams to Roger Zelazny. Chronologically speaking, their death dates range from those of Jules Verne to the newly deceased Fred Hoyle.
And behind each name, Willick supplies a plethora of facts and links. When available, a photo of the author smiles out from the top of each entry. Then, a characteristic quote from the author headlines a literate, cogent summary of his or her life and career. Vital stats—birth date, death date, place of interment, etc.—give us the hard, sobering reality of their lifespan. And links to online biographies, bibliographies and obituaries further flesh out the vanished individual.
Not only is this site a fine tool for the scholar or researcher, but it also provides for the average fan the same kind of quietude and consolation one experiences when visiting an old graveyard of the physical kind.
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week—October 1, 2001
ow many indelible fictional icons has the 20th century produced? Tarzan? Superman? The Lone Ranger? Batman? Charlie Brown? However many you can name, and however valid their claims to immortality, almost every figure will probably be a human. But let's put species chauvinism aside for the moment, and remember one large hairy member of this corps of immortals: King Kong.
Fans of the great ape who loved not wisely but too deeply will find all their needs met at A. Boyd Campbell's King Kong site. This tribute site is well organized and rich with links. The well-conceived FAQ leads one easily into a wealth of Kong material, answering such vital questions as "What color was Fay Wray's hair?" and "What happened to the famous spider-at-the-bottom-of-the-pit sequence?". The roles of SFX gods Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen are explored. A filmography ranges from the core movies to the obscure (1977's Queen Kong, for instance). Online shopping for these films and other Kong memorabilia is facilitated as well. (If anyone wants to purchase my Christmas present early, I'll take the Aurora model kit of Kong clutching Fay Wray, for a very reasonable $16.50.)
I was particularly enchanted by the portion of the site known as "The Sounds of King Kong." Being able to download Kong's mighty roar provides all sorts of inspiration for telephone answering machine messages!
— Paul Di Filippo
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